Posted by nmsindy on 14th March 2008
I’d the privilege of meeting Nestor briefly at the Listener setters’ dinner on the day this puzzle appeared. I told him I’d struggled with it on the train, but I think he assured me the Nestor puzzles were quite easy!
Solving time: 68 mins. As always with Nestor, perhaps partly reflecting not growing up in the UK, a very different and innovative approach.
Not a fully thought out blog but happy to step in for Neildubya
ACROSS
1 BULL(y)INGDON CLUB
10 EX HUMER(i)
11 NO CAN DO cf Knockand0
13 EL AND Elevated railway in the US. New approach to that crossword regular!
14 E VER SO Verso
15 FORSOOTH (indeed), I think, but not understood “Sooty friend enters so as to be revealed indeed”
20 KIPPER “Cure occupant of bed?” !!!
26 TOUS LES
27 V AMP(I)RE cf ampere
28 YO URE TELL ING ME y o (meringue)* not sure about tell = ‘poker player’s weakness’ it seems
DOWN
2 (l) UN (H IN) GE
4 NER (U) D A
8 BLOODTHIRS TIER (orbits hold)*
16 SPI (DER MA) N
19 SE PP UK U My last entry (appropriately enough)
21 PRE M (I) UM Pre-mum!
22 SNIVEL Levin’s< I think
Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 14th March 2008
Around about this time each week I usually post a blog about the Saturday prize puzzle in the Independent. However, as I spent most of the weekend preparing to move house and then most of this week actually moving I haven’t had to time to solve the puzzle, let alone blog it. So if any of the other bloggers want to jump in here then please feel free.
Posted in Independent | 1 Comment »
Posted by neildubya on 14th March 2008
A very nice puzzle with a mini-theme based on 28a. Eminently solvable, even for occasional wine drinkers like myself.
| Across |
| 9 |
IN THE SOUP - “noodle” can mean a simpleton or blockhead, someone who could end up in difficulty or IN THE SOUP. |
| 10 |
ADIE,U - a reference to Kate ADIE, former war correspondent of the BBC. |
| 11 |
KABUL - filled this in without understanding why but have just spotted the key word - “cycling” (i.e. going round). “A mass” is A BULK, so “cycle” the K round to the beginning. |
| 12 |
GEOMETRIC - must be right but some of the wordplay eludes me: “Government recalled French company absorbing overhauled Metro, dealing with points and lines”. It’s the first four words that I don’t get. |
| 13 |
IT in EX CABLE |
| 19 |
I,N, I in TROT - an INTROIT is sung at the beginning of a service. |
| 26 |
hidden in “nigHTLIFe” |
| 28 |
G,RAPE - the keyword for the mini-theme of the puzzle. |
| 29 |
(A SNUG VINO)* - SAUVIGNON. |
| |
| Down |
| 3 |
MER,LOT - MER being the French (”Nice”) word for sea. |
| 4 |
GO[-i]NG |
| 5 |
SPOONERISM - another one I filled in without knowing why but I think I have it now: “lack of pies” comes out as “pack of lies” when it’s Spoonerized. |
| 6 |
CAB[ER for I]NET |
| 7 |
I in (IGNORAMUS)* - I’d heard of MIGRAINE of course, but not MIGRAINOUS. Still, an easy enough word to guess. |
| 8 |
MUS[-h],CADET |
| 9 |
HARD in CON,NAY |
| 15 |
BASIL (SHRUB)* - Boom boom! An explanation for non-Brit solvers is here. |
| 17 |
(GO SORELY)* - SEROLOGY |
| 18 |
V,I E in RINGO (going up) - VIOGNIER was the only wine in the puzzle I didn’t know but it wasn’t too tricky once I’d settled in RINGO as the Beatle. |
| 25 |
DR,U,G |
| 27 |
[-b]LINK |
Posted in Independent | 8 Comments »
Posted by ilancaron on 14th March 2008
This got postponed throughout all of yesterday as various things intervened. Anyway, a rather noble effort by Araucaria that had me looking up a few aristocratic references. Shirley has clarified things below…
Across
| 1 |
BOW-W(IN,D)OW - I suppose BOW-WOW is how a dog asks for dinner? No, dinner indicates containment. |
| 6 |
OPTIC - 22 is MISTY - so MISTYOPTIC makes for a very Araucarian Spoonerism of optimistic. I guess. |
| 9 |
DEVONSHIRE CREAM - one of our noble clues: I guess our cryptic def is “County elite?” and the wordplay is (cheer, [o]ver Madison)*. |
| 11 |
BY GEORGE - two meanings. |
| 12 |
CAR(THOR’S)E - THOR’s in CARE (love) — I suppose there’s a kind of punch (in boxing) called a CARTHORSE? It’s a Surrey Punch — a kind of CARTHORSE!
|
| 16 |
VALE,T[he] - VALE is Latin “farewell”. |
| 18 |
PAD(SAD)DLE - SAD in PADDLE. |
| 21 |
SCAM=rev(Mac’s) |
| 25 |
INTERIM ACCOUNTS=(cost? I’m uncertain)* - def is “figures for now”. |
| 26 |
HEATH - two meanings: ref. PM Ted and Macbeth (”blasted heath”). |
| 27 |
R([h]OUND)ELAY |
Down
| 1 |
BIDE,T |
| 2 |
W,AVER,ER |
|
| 3 |
IONA - wordplay? “Island of international importance”. Hidden in “internatIONAl”. |
| 4 |
DAH=rev(had),L - ref. Roald. |
| 5 |
WOR(RY BEA)DS - (by ear)* in WORDS. |
| 6 |
ORCHESTRA,L - a familiar anagram: CARTHORSE*=ORCHESTRA. |
| 7 |
THE(O,RE)M |
| 8 |
C,YM=rev(my),BE,LINE - BE for “live” and our number’s C. |
| 12 |
CHATS,WORTH - where D and D of Devonshire hold court. |
| 13 |
DROP HAMMER - groan. |
| 14 |
CA(VEND,I)SH - VEND I for “am I selling”. And I guess there was a CAVENDISH who was the first D of Devonshire. |
| 17 |
LU=”loo”,CETTA=”setter” (me) - ref. the maid in “Two G. of Verona”. But I don’t see how LU is produced by “John” in: “John - me, say - as a Shakespearean maid”. John is LOO where I come from it turns out. |
| 19 |
DE,CANAL - ref. something to do with a deacon. And I suppose DE is “of”. |
| 22 |
MISTY - Def is “film with poor visibility” but “Roadhouse, perhaps, played”? M1 is our “road” and our “house” is a pigSTY! |
| 24, 10 |
GOOD TURN - two meanings. |
Posted in Guardian | 14 Comments »